Blood pressure, sometimes referred to as arterial blood pressure or hypertension, is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels. The blood pressure in your circulation is principally due to the pumping action of the heart as well as cell salt content. You can greatly reduce your risk for high… Continue reading 4 Amazing Foods That Lower High Blood Pressure Naturally
Tag: Hypertension
Calorie Counting and Your Brain
We’ve all seen those little booklets that tell you how many calories are in different kinds of food. As it turns out, you might not need one; researchers say the brain has its own kind of calorie counter. The findings, by researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, were published in Psychological Science, a… Continue reading Calorie Counting and Your Brain
Psoriasis-Hypertension Link
Patients with more severe psoriasis are also more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension, according to research done at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Through a cross-sectional study using information collected from a medical records database, the results provide further evidence of a strong link between psoriasis and hypertension. The results… Continue reading Psoriasis-Hypertension Link
10 Natural Ways to Control Blood Pressure
If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure (a systolic pressure — the top number — of 140 or above or a diastolic pressure — the bottom number — of 90 or above), you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers down.
Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you may avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.
Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down.
BP, Lower May Not Be Better
The mantra for treatment for high blood pressure has been “the lower, the better,” but that goal can potentially put patients at risk of kidney failure or death, according to a study done Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles and published August 4th 2014 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Researchers examined the electronic health records of nearly 400,000 Kaiser Permanente patients in Southern California who were taking medications to treat high blood pressure from January 2006 through December 2010. They found that:
6 Reasons Your Hypertension Meds Might Not Be Working
From the Cleveland Clinic
A hypertension specialist looks at potential causes. Usually, it’s not just one single issue but various factors that contribute to the problem. Your doctor will work to figure out why – and from there, create a new plan of attack.
“Finding the right combination of medications for uncontrolled hypertension may require some trial and error,” says hypertension specialist George Thomas, MD.
In his work with patients, Thomas investigates possible explanations for difficulty in controlling blood pressures. These can include:
Blood Pressure Monitoring Kiosks Aren’t for Everyone
Convenience can come with tradeoffs. The next time you put your arm in the cuff at a kiosk that measures blood pressure, you could get an inaccurate reading unless the cuff is your size.
Diuretics Risky for Older Adults
Adults over 65 with high blood pressure who have recently begun taking thiazide diuretics are at a greater risk for developing metabolic-related adverse events including acute kidney injury, according to research done at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco. The study was published in June 2014 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Lower BP Not Always Better
For decades, common medical wisdom has been “the lower the better” in treating the approximately one in three people in this country who have high blood pressure. But does that approach result in reduced risk for dangerous heart events? Not necessarily, according to research done at Wake Forest Baptists Medical Center in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and published in the June 16th online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine.
Midlife High BP May Affect Memory in Old Age
New research suggests that high blood pressure in middle age plays a critical role in whether blood pressure in old age may affect memory and thinking. The study is published in the June 4th 2014 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Toxic Relationships Raise Your Blood Pressure
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have shown what you have probably suspected all along: Unpleasant or demanding interpersonal encounters increase hypertension risk. That unfortunate result is particularly true for women 51 to 64 — but not men. The study was published in May 2014 in the American Psychological Association’s journal Health Psychology.
The Best Diet To Lower Your Blood Pressure
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“White Coat Effect” on BP Is True
Doctors routinely record blood pressure levels that are significantly higher than levels recorded by nurses, according to the first thorough analysis of scientific data on the so-called “White Coat Phenomenon”. The study was done at at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK and published in March 2014 in the British Journal of General Practice.
Ten Ways To Control High Blood Pressure Without Medication
Editor's note: Hypertension is one of the most common, and most serious, health problems. It has the potential to damage vital organs like the brain, heart and kidneys. Millions of people take medications to control their high blood presure, but lifestyle changes are often just as important and can make it possible to handle hypertension without any medicine. Here, experts from the Mayo Clinic offer some non-medicinal ways to control hypertension.